Tips for creating sales leads to keep your service business thriving

The biggest sales issue facing small and professional businesses is their reluctance and/or inability to sell

Increasing numbers of entrepreneurs are launching new service businesses, while many existing service businesses are becoming more entrepreneurial to better align with a changing business climate.

While these are primarily small and medium-sized businesses, they do share one thing with their larger brothers and sisters regarding increasing competition — they need to sell to survive.

Soon, they discover that selling services (and other intangibles) is more difficult than cranking out widgets and placing them in stores. There is competition, of course, but, unless the business is in a niche of one — which isn’t very sustainable — everybody faces that.

No, instead, the biggest sales issue facing small and professional businesses is their reluctance and/or inability to sell.

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Most small service businesses are operated by entrepreneurs who are expert in some field. Selling is often anathema to them. They also often change their offerings depending on the most recent indication of where the business must be. In this, they are the classic hunter-gatherers of the business world.

But, says Susan Chambers, of Coquitlam, B.C. who calls herself a “trained pitbull” because she never gives up, if they learn some simple techniques, they can become good sales people in their area of expertise.

Chambers is a sales-lead generation expert who’s logged time with such operations as Franklin Covey. Now, she operates teleCAT communications, which provides sales consulting services to professionals too busy or too reluctant to sell.

“Whether you’re new or older and wiser, you can’t avoid the need for lead generation,” she said. “Somebody still has to pick up the phone. Usually in a small business, that’s you.”

You’ll notice Chambers uses the term lead generation. That’s because her first advice for the sales-challenged is that they shouldn’t think of it as selling: If they are in a service business, they are in the business of helping people. If you hope to get sales leads, you really do have to believe your service helps people with a problem.

The second is that they aren’t really trying to sell on the phone, they’re merely setting up a meeting to discuss whatever issue the prospective client faces and whether the service provider can help with it. The goal is always to get a meeting where you can show your stuff.

Next, and the most important task, is to put together a list of prospects that will listen to your messaging and understand how you can help them. This is no easy task and involves a lot of research that pays off in less time and energy wasted.

“Your list research is going to determine your success or failure,” Chambers says. “You really have to determine what kind business would best benefit from your service. Decide on one service that you’re trying to generate leads for because you can’t be all things to all people.”

Business salespeople should also narrow down such details as industry, location, size, structure, and other aspects that will allow them to better understand the person they are going to speak to.

Next up is to prepare a script and keep it fresh while you’re calling. If you sound like you’re reading or are simply a broken record, people will get rid of you quickly. A proper script should respect the prospect’s time, talk about the business landscape and their industry, deliver a value proposition that fits their needs, and, finally, suggest a meeting date to discuss the issue further.

In addition, don’t fall for advice about when is the best time to call. Any time is a good time. If you don’t get through, try again later.

Lastly, Chambers advises that if you’re feeling tired while talking with prospects, get off the phone. It will show through your voice and create a bad impression.

Tony Wanless, of Knowpreneur Consultants, is a certified management consultant who helps knowledge-based businesses with strategy, innovation and planning.